"Deacon Ge Ye was injured by the Xiao Clan?"
"And the Xiao Clan publicly divorced you?"
Hearing Nalan Yanran's words, Yun Yun immediately furrowed her brows, anger instinctively rising in her heart.
Although she was somewhat angry, Yun Yun was not someone who condemned others without first distinguishing right from wrong.
She turned her gaze to Nalan Yanran and said sternly, "Yanran, tell me exactly what happened when you went to the Xiao Clan to break off the engagement. Leave nothing out."
Nalan Yanran looked aggrieved as she slowly recounted what had happened.
When Yun Yun heard that Nalan Yanran and Ge Ye had broken off the engagement with Xiao Yan in front of the entire Xiao Clan, her expression immediately darkened.
"Yanran, Deacon Ge Ye, didn't I tell you before you left? Breaking off this engagement was hardly an honorable act on our Misty Cloud Sect's part. You were not to make too much of a spectacle and damage our sect's reputation."
Yun Yun looked at Nalan Yanran and Ge Ye with displeasure and said gravely, "But what did you do? Breaking off the engagement so brazenly not only left the Xiao Clan with no way to save face, it also disgraced our Misty Cloud Sect. Once word spreads, what will the other factions think of us?"
"That the Misty Cloud Sect throws its weight around? That we use our strength to bully the weak?"
The more Yun Yun spoke, the angrier she became. Had Ge Ye not been injured and Nalan Yanran not suffered humiliation, she would already have imposed punishment.
"Teacher, I..."
At Yun Yun's rebuke, Nalan Yanran lowered her head, unable to respond.
Beside her, Ge Ye's lips twitched, but he dared not offer any explanation.
When they went to break off the engagement, both had assumed that, with the Misty Cloud Sect's name behind them, the Xiao Clan would obediently submit even if they resented it.
Neither had expected the Xiao Clan's father and son to be so forceful.
Not only were they powerful, they had even written Nalan Yanran a Divorce Letter outright.
They had shown no regard whatsoever for the Misty Cloud Sect backing the pair.
"You handled this matter poorly."
"Deacon Ge Ye, I am docking six months of your stipend. Reflect carefully on your conduct."
"As for you, Yanran, you will spend three months in seclusion on the rear mountain, reflecting on your mistakes. Without my permission, you are not to take a single step down the mountain!"
Seeing that both remained silent, Yun Yun's lovely face darkened slightly as she pronounced their punishments.
"Yes, Sect Master!"
Ge Ye breathed a small sigh of relief and bowed.
Nalan Yanran, however, pouted and said somewhat plaintively, "Understood, Teacher."
Then Yun Yun looked at Nalan Yanran and said coolly, "Continue..."
Nalan Yanran nodded and resumed her account.
"I never expected this father and son of the Xiao Clan to have such backbone!"
When she heard that the father and son had resisted the temptation of the Qi Gathering Powder and resolutely rejected Nalan Yanran's attempt to break off the engagement, surprise flashed through Yun Yun's eyes, followed by a note of praise in her voice.
The Qi Gathering Powder was a Fourth-Rank Pill, and one made by Pill King Gu He himself. It was immensely valuable.
For the tiny Xiao Clan, it was undoubtedly an enormous temptation.
Yet, to Yun Yun's surprise, the father and son had refused it without the slightest hesitation.
This gave her some appreciation for the Xiao Clan's father and son, whom she had never met.
However, as Nalan Yanran continued, Yun Yun's expression soon darkened.
"Xiao Yan declared that he would kill Yanran?"
"Xiao Zhan not only injured Elder Ge Ye, but also had Xiao Yan write a Divorce Letter?"
The more she heard, the darker Yun Yun's expression became, until anger finally rose in her heart.
How could Xiao Yan be so extreme?
Even if he didn't want to break off the engagement, he couldn't threaten to kill Yanran, could he?
And this Xiao Clan head was far too arrogant.
Elder Ge Ye and Yanran may have been in the wrong, but they were still members of my Misty Cloud Sect. How could he attack and injure him?
Yanran was also the Misty Cloud Sect's young sect master. By divorcing her in public, where did that leave our sect's dignity?
"Was Xiao Zhan truly that arrogant?"
Yun Yun's brows knitted tightly as she stared at Nalan Yanran and Ge Ye with anger in her eyes, seemingly trying to determine whether they were deceiving her.
She simply could not believe that a tiny Xiao Clan would dare show such disrespect to the Misty Cloud Sect.
"Teacher, everything I said is true. The Xiao Clan divorced me in front of so many people and dragged my dignity through the dust. You must stand up for me!" Nalan Yanran said, deeply aggrieved, with a trace of indignation in her eyes.
Ge Ye hurriedly corroborated Nalan Yanran's account. "Sect Master, every word the young sect master said is true. Not only did the Xiao Clan injure me, Xiao Zhan even made an outrageous declaration in public: 'A mere Misty Cloud Sect-why should I, Xiao Zhan, fear it?' His words showed absolutely no regard for our Misty Cloud Sect."
"Insolence!"
"The Xiao Clan has some nerve!"
At Ge Ye's words, Yun Yun was thoroughly enraged, her lovely face clouded over.
As the Misty Cloud Sect's sect master, Yun Yun cared most about its reputation.
That was precisely why Nalan Yanran and Ge Ye's brazen manner of breaking off the engagement had displeased her. She feared it would damage the sect's good name.
But now, hearing from Nalan Yanran and Ge Ye that the Xiao Clan had been so arrogant, had shown no regard for the Misty Cloud Sect, and had even openly provoked it, Yun Yun was filled with fury.
Since when could even a tiny Xiao Clan humiliate my Misty Cloud Sect like this?
How utterly outrageous!
Seeing Yun Yun's fury, Nalan Yanran and Ge Ye were both startled, but delight soon rose in their hearts.
With Yun Yun so angry, she would surely take action against the Xiao Clan next.
Sure enough, Yun Yun said to Ge Ye, "Deacon Ge Ye, go see Elder Zhao. Tell him what happened and have him visit the Xiao Clan to administer a little punishment."
Ge Ye was overjoyed. Elder Zhao was a Dou Wang expert.
If he went to the Xiao Clan, wouldn't he simply crush them?
This time, Ge Ye would surely avenge his humiliation and teach that arrogant wretch Xiao Zhan a harsh lesson!
Remembering how he had lost almost all face at the Xiao Clan that day, Ge Ye wished he could wipe out the entire clan to vent the hatred in his heart.
"Yes, Sect Master!"
Suppressing his excitement, Ge Ye bowed in assent.
"Remember, a light punishment to serve as a stern warning will suffice. Under no circumstances is anyone to die."
Yun Yun hesitated before giving Ge Ye this instruction.
Although the Xiao Clan had been far too arrogant, the whole affair had begun with the Misty Cloud Sect breaking off the engagement. Yun Yun felt it would be best to avoid any deaths, lest the sect's reputation suffer.
Ge Ye was somewhat disappointed, but he dared not disobey Yun Yun. He hurriedly nodded and said, "Rest assured, Sect Master. No one will die."
"Go. I hope you will not disappoint me this time," Yun Yun said coldly.
"Rest assured, Sect Master."
Ge Ye nodded, thinking, As long as no one dies, surely crippling Xiao Zhan should be fine?
He remembered that Wutan City seemed to have two other clans. If he crippled Xiao Zhan, the Xiao Clan would be destroyed sooner or later. That would achieve his goal just the same.
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